(a) Field of the Invention
This application relates to a system and method for carrying personal items, such as coats and purses, when not being worn. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a flexible support system that provides attachment points for carrying items on the user's back, and which can be folded or rolled up to a compact size, and used to support the personal items from the wearer's back or from a support hook mounted from a support surface such as a wall.
(b) Discussion of Known Art
Outdoor activities require that one be prepared for the elements. Often, a person may attend all-day events such as a fair, or an outdoor market, which starts during cool morning temperatures and extends into the afternoon, when temperatures and conditions may have changed significantly. Similarly, families may go for walks with children or even walk from a parked car into a mall where the conditions inside the mall differ greatly from the conditions outside the mall. These types of situations often require that one wear a coat or other outerwear when commencing the activity, and then have to carry the coat or outerwear for much of the day. Carrying a coat in one's arms is a well-known inconvenience; an inconvenience that often leads to misplaced jackets or other personal items, such as purses, and loss of items that simply fall out of the jacket, such as keys or wallets. Accordingly, there remains a need for a device that helps individuals carry one or more personal items, and importantly, carry one or more personal items in a manner that will not result in things falling out of the item being carried, and which will not result in wrinkling or making the items difficult to access, as occurs when stuffing items into a backpack.
Similarly, prudent motorcycle riding requires the use of appropriate garments that will protect the rider in the event of an accident. A leather or heavy jacket has long been considered as providing adequate protection for the rider. However, since motorcycle riding is typically limited to days of good weather, the jacket worn by the motorcycle rider becomes a burden once the rider has reached his destination and parked the motorcycle. Since the weather is nice, the continued use of the jacket after dismounting can be uncomfortable, and carrying the jacket in one's arm is heavy and cumbersome.
Many motorcycles are equipped with saddlebags that provide limited storage space, and which often do not include adequate locking mechanisms. Additionally, the limited space and limited security afforded by a saddlebag makes it undesirable or unfeasible for motorcycle riders to leave their jackets in the saddlebags or with the motorcycle when not using the motorcycle.
Carrying personal items, such as a jacket, on a person's back has long been accomplished through the use of a backpack that is used to hold the personal items. However, when the personal item to be carried is a motorcycle-riding jacket, the use of a backpack as the means for carrying the garment has significant limitations. One important limitation is that the bulk of the jacket will take up much if not all of the storage space in the backpack. Another limitation is that if several jackets are to be carried, which is likely to be the case when two people are traveling on the motorcycle, the jackets are unlikely to fit in a single backpack, and access to items that may have been left in either of the jackets will require the emptying of the backpack.
Still further, depending on a backpack to carry motorcycle jackets when away from the motorcycle means that the backpack must be stored when riding the motorcycle. Given the limited carrying space available on a motorcycle, the reliance on a backpack for carrying jackets while not riding the motorcycle is not an adequate solution.
Therefore, there remains a need for a simple device that allows individuals to carry their jackets and other belongings when not using their jackets or other personal items, such as purses. Importantly, there remains a need for a device that takes up very little space when not in use, and which can be used to carry several jackets together with other items, such as purses, while providing easy access to these items at the same time. Still further, there remains a need for a system that allows one to carry personal items, such as garments, without wrinkling the items, as would occur by stuffing the items in a backpack.